Camulodunum ( ; ), the Ancient Roman name for what is now Colchester in Essex, was an important Originally the site of the Brythonic-Celtic oppidum of Camulodunon (meaning "stronghold of Camulos"), capital of the Trinovantes and later the Catuvellauni tribes, it was first mentioned by name on coinage minted by the chieftain Tasciovanus some time between 20 and 10 BC. often shortened to Colonia Victricensis, and as Camulodunum, a Latinised version of its original Brythonic name. It may have reached a population of 30,000 at its height.
Camulodunon
Colchester is said to be the oldest recorded town in Britain on the grounds that it was mentioned by Pliny the Elder, who died in AD 79, although the Celtic name of the town, Camulodunon, appears on coins minted by tribal chieftain Tasciovanus in the period 2010 BC. Its Celtic name, Camulodunon, variously represented as CA, CAM, CAMV, CAMVL and CAMVLODVNO on the coins of Cunobelinus, means 'the fortress of [the war god] Camulos'. During the 30s AD Camulodunon controlled a large swathe of Southern and Eastern Britain, with Cunobelin called "King of the Britons" by Roman writers. though the name Camelot (first mentioned by the 12th-century French Arthurian storyteller Chrétien de Troyes) is most likely a corruption of Camlann, a now unknown location first mentioned in the 10th-century Welsh annalistic text Annales Cambriae, identified as the place where Arthur was slain in battle.
Iron Age Camulodunon
right|thumb|The Iron Age site of Camulodunon
The earliest Iron Age defensive site at Colchester is the Pitchbury Ramparts earthwork north of the town between West Bergholt and Great Horkesley. The defences consist of lines of ditches and ramparts, possibly palisaded with gateways, that mostly run parallel to each other in a north–south direction. The Iron Age settlement was protected by rivers on three sides, with the River Colne bounding the site to the north and east, and the Roman River valley forming the southern boundary; the earthworks were mostly designed to close off the western gap between these two river valleys. Other earthworks close off eastern parts of the settlement. These earthworks gave the oppidum its Brythonic Celtic name – Camulodunon meant "the stronghold of Camulus", the British god of war.
The main sites within the bounds of these defences are the Gosbecks farmstead, the Sheepen industrial area and the Lexden burials. The Gosbecks site consists of a large, high-status farmstead, as well as an important coin mint. as have pieces of imported Samian pottery.
thumb|upright=0.9|Coin of the [[Catuvellauni king Cunobelinus minted at Camulodunon]]
Just inside the earthworks, at Lexden, are located the burial mounds of the rulers of Camulodunon, which contain large amounts of grave goods including imported Roman material from Europe; The Lexden area around the mounds contains several Iron Age cremation burial groups, including one containing the "Mirror burial", with other burials located around the Camulodunon site. Camulodunon may have been an at the centre of the local trade in this important preservative. Cunobelinus was friendly with Rome, marking his coins with the word REX and classical motifs rather than the traditional Gallo-Belgic designs. Archaeology shows an increase in imported luxury goods, probably through the Sheepen site port of Camulodunon, during his reign. He was probably one of the British kings that Strabo says sent embassies to Augustus. Strabo reports Rome's lucrative trade with Britain; the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs. Iron ingots, slave chains and storage vessels discovered at the Sheepen site appear to confirm this trade with the Empire. After Cunobelinus' death (c. AD 40) his sons took power with the eldest, Togodumnus, ruling the Catuvellauni homeland around Verlamion, and Caratacus ruling from Camulodunon. appealed to the Emperor Claudius for aid. At the time of this appeal in AD 43 the newly enthroned Emperor Claudius was in need of a military victory in order to secure his shaky position with the military, and saw this call for help as the perfect pretext. Aulus Plautius led the four Roman legions across to Britain with Camulodunon being their main target, leading the attack on Camulodunon. Caratacus fled the storming of the town, taking refuge with the Ordovices and Silures tribes in Wales and becoming a Welsh folk hero for his resistance to Rome.
Roman fortress and early town
As the stronghold of a major tribe in the south-east, Camulodunum held strategic importance.
thumb|left|Figurines from a child's burial, pre-60/1
The legionary fortress was larger than a standard castrum, and included a large annex on its north-east side. One of these was around the Sheepen site, which became the main Roman port for the fortress and later for the town, with another military river port at Fingringhoe. The podium, or foundation of the temple, was incorporated into the Norman castle, and represents "the earliest substantial stone building of Roman date visible in the country".
Iceni revolt
thumb|upright=0.9|The head of a presumed [[equestrian statue of either Nero or Claudius found in the River Alde at Rendham in Suffolk, believed to have been taken from the Temple of Claudius during Boudica's revolt. British Museum, London.]]
The city was the capital of the Roman province of Britannia, and its temple (the only classical-style temple in Britain) was the centre of the Imperial Cult in the province. The colonia was also initially home to the provincial Procurator of Britain. Aside from the Roman population, the city and surrounding territorium was also home to a large native population. Examples of cooperation between the two groups include the Romano-British Stanway Burials mounds and the warrior graves of native elites from the 50s. These graves represent members of the native aristocracy who have been Romanised. The Procurator Catus Decianus was especially despised. A relief army consisting of the Legio IX Hispana led by Quintus Petillius Cerialis attempted to rescue the besieged citizens, but was destroyed outside of the town. After the Romans under governor Gaius Suetonius Paullinus finally defeated the uprising, the Procurator of the province moved his seat to the newly established commercial settlement of Londinium (London).
Boudican destruction layer
right|thumb|Stylized statue of [[Boudica in Colchester, commemorating her sacking of the Roman town.]]
The destruction of the early town by the rebels has left a thick layer of ash, destroyed buildings and smashed pottery and glasswork across the town centre and at the Sheepen river port site outside the NW corner of the town. The destruction layer, also found at Verulamium (St Albans) and Londinium (London), is famous for the charred preservation of artefacts and furniture, During excavations in 2014 at Williams and Griffin on the High Street a collection of gold and silver jewellery was discovered buried in the floor of a Roman building destroyed during the revolt. Known as the "Fenwick Treasure", it appears to have been buried just prior to the building's destruction by a victim of the Boudican attack.
Colonia Victricensis in the second and third centuries
thumb|The Roman Colonia Victricensis in its wider landscape
thumb|Tomb inscription for Gnaeus Munatius Aurelius Bassus, mentioning Camulodunum in its ninth line. The tomb is noticeable for the precision of its lettering. [[Vatican Museum, Rome.]]
Following the destruction of the Colonia and Suetonius Paulinus' crushing of the revolt the town was rebuilt on a larger scale and flourished,
The colonia is mentioned by name several times by contemporaries, including in Pliny's Natural History, Ptolemy's Geography, Tacitus' Annales, The Antonine Itinerary and the Ravenna Cosmography. whilst the civilian Procurator's office had moved from Camulodunum to the new port of Londinium sometime around the Boudican Revolt. Skulls showing signs of decapitation were found in the town ditch in front of the gate, interpreted as executions on public display.
Streets
thumb|Roman streets and excavated remains of Colonia Victricensis (Camulodunum)
The Cardo maximus, the main north–south street, ran between North Gate and Head Gate, whilst the Decumanus Maximus, the main east–west street, ran between Balkerne Gate and East Gate, and have their origins in the Legionary fortresses two main axial streets. Parts of the temple precinct wall are still visible to the NW of the present castle, jutting out from beneath the Norman bailey rampart. Temple I at the Sheepen site was found to be enclosed by a large, buttressed precinct wall during excavations in 1935 and 2014.
In 2005, the only known Roman circus in Britain was discovered on the southern outskirts of the colonia. It is about 450 metres long, with eight starting-gates, and it was built in the early 2nd century. It could accommodate at least 8,000 spectators and maybe up to as many as double that.
Several temples and religious monuments in and around the colonia have evidence for the deity honoured by them:
- A statue of Venus was found in the vicinity of the temple outside of the Balkerne Gate. The water would have been pressurised in reservoirs; it has been argued by archaeologist Philip Crummy that the pipes would have been fed by a castellum divisiorum, a water tower with multiple outlets, and that some form of aqueduct or water-lifting wheel would have been needed to bring water from springs west of the town to the pipes found at Balkerne Lane. Private baths have been found at some sites, and public baths were discovered in summer 2019. Examples of bustum burials (funerary pyre that is then covered with a mound) have been found, which are rare outside of Italy. Elaborate grave goods accompanied some of the burials. Many fragments of carved tombstones have been found in the cemeteries outside of the town,
Industry and economy
Pottery production
Camulodunum was a centre for pottery production, peaking at around 200, mortaria, buff wares, single-handled ring-necked flagons, and, until c. 250, colour-coated wares. including 37 complete examples. One of the most famous examples of locally made pottery is the "Colchester Vase" (c. 200), which depicts combat between gladiators called Memnon and Valentinus. Glass was produced throughout the Roman period of Camulodunum, including in the late 4th century, and other watermills may have operated on the Colne at the modern site of Middle Mill in Castle Park. Small numbers of tiles were imported from Eccles in Kent by Roman settlements in South-East Britain, including Camulodunum, for a brief time in the First Century, as was Kentish Ragstone for building. The town ditch began to silt up from c. 400 onwards. Although houses tended to shrink in size, with 75% of the large townhouses being replaced by smaller buildings by c. 350, The Temple appears to have had a large apsidal hall built across the front of the podium steps, with numismatic dating evidence taking the date of the building up to at least 395. The sunken chambers of the water reservoir system found in Castle Park appear to have become blocked with debris and dumped rubbish in the 4th century and was disused. The Roman chariot circus was also demolished during the late 4th century. Increases in the number of clipped coins from the 4th century have been interpreted as a breakdown in the Roman monetary economy,
Sub-Roman period
The formal collapse of Roman administration in the province occurred in the years 409–411. Activity in the 5th century continued in Camulodunum at a much reduced level, Post-Roman/early Saxon burials from the 5th, 6th and 7th centuries, some buried with weapons, have been found outside of the walls in the areas of former Roman cemeteries, suggesting a continuity of practice. Excavations of the former Goojerat and Hyderabad Barracks in 2004 and 2010 saw the discovery of other pagan 5th century burials with Germanic weapons, nine of which were located in burial mounds surrounded by circular ditches. As well as burials, coin hoards from the late Fourth and early Fifth centuries have been found, including a hoard minted in the reign of Constantine III (reigned 407–411) from Artillery Folly, that are heavily clipped; this clipping must have occurred in the years after they were minted and so would have happened in the 400s (decade). that has been thought to indicate Colchester. Archaeology aside, Colchester first explicitly re-enters the written historical record again in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 917, the year it was retaken from the Danes by a Saxon army led by King Edward the Elder, who "restored" the borough to English rule. Over 25,000 cubic metres of reused Roman tile and brick was used for the Castle alone. The Normans referred to the Temple as King Coel's Palace and to the barbican of Balkerne Gate as Colkyng's Castle, reflecting a myth that continued into the medieval period, and was recorded in the Colchester Chronicle (written in the 13th or early 14th century at St John's Abbey), that the Roman town was founded by a warlord called Coel. According to the Medieval legend,